


the stars were bright, fernando

by monstermash



Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:02:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26504839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monstermash/pseuds/monstermash
Summary: "Hey ADA, play side one, track two.""Making an entrance, Captain?"
Relationships: The Captain (The Outer Worlds)/Original Character(s), The Captain (The Outer Worlds)/Original Male Character(s)
Kudos: 6





	the stars were bright, fernando

**Author's Note:**

> is the soundtrack for this fic mostly going to be ABBA songs? yes. is Captain "Nemo" a little eccentric, a little too into violence, and a former corporate assassin who is very much in love with his husband who is still on the Hope? absolutely.

The lights flicker like a racing heartbeat before finally stabilizing.

A smile worms its way onto his face.

"Hey ADA, play side one, track two."

"Making an entrance, Captain?" ADA's voice comes in over the speakers, clearly teasing him in a way that has long since been part of their strange friendship. The opening notes of the song are already starting up as she closes out the line with a fond, "Have fun."

Out of the corner of his eye, Nemo sees the way Felix's nose scrunches up.

"Didn't think you'd be one for the oldies, boss," he comments as he reloads his weapon, the _'Authorized Personnel'_ door growing closer and closer.

"What can I say, I'm a man out of time," Nemo chuckles as the door opens in time with the first line of the song, revealing a group of UDL soldiers at the bottom of the grand marble staircase. There's bound to be more troops on the way, exactly what Nemo was hoping for. Letting out a long, low whistle, he pushes the brim of his hat up with the barrel of his pistol, the smile on his face growing into a sharp grin. "Hello, boys."

There's a brief moment of tense silence where Nemo can count at least several different UDL soldiers who cringe away from his unnerving bright white eyes before everything kicks off with SAM spitting acid at them.

The song grows louder, undoubtedly ADA's doing, and Nemo gets into the beat of it.

Fighting has always been like dancing to him; fluid movements, a choreography he knows by heart.

_A lively dance hall, one he goes to regularly when he has the time and clothes free of questionable stains._

It makes it easier for him to get lost in memories of happier times.

_There's no end of potential partners for him - he knows how he looks and most people here aren't expecting more than one night anyway. Harmless fun. That was the plan of course, until he saw **him,** until their gazes met. The world fell away around them._

Losing his gun somewhere along the way, Nemo plucks a plasma cutter from the belt of the UDL soldier he's been swinging around, who is groaning and slowly bleeding out, and that's when time really starts to blur for him.

_Just about the prettiest man he'd ever laid eyes on, smiling sweetly at him all shy and quiet and oh, he fell in love right then and there._

Reaching out, Nemo snags another UDL by their armored vest and drags them in close after dropping his previous, now expired, dance partner.

_Having him in his arms feels so right as he leads their dance, the genuine laughter between them warming his heart more than a job well done, and he takes pride in his work so this is definitely **something.** And, judging by the way the man in his arms is looking at him, he thinks it's safe to say he can feel that something too._

The UDL makes a grab for the plasma cutter, both of them grappling and Nemo can feel the grin on his face growing wider, a bark of harsh laughter escaping him.

_He dips the man low before bringing him back up, holding him so close that there's no space between them, eyes drawn in by the way the man softly bites at his own bottom lip. The lights of the dance hall are dimmer than they had been, dimming further still, until it fades to black and black to—_

Warmth trickles down Nemo's hand, down his wrist, down his arm, as his eyes finally focus in the here and now. There's a dying UDL soldier cradled in one arm, his other still holding the plasma cutter plunged into the gurgling UDL's chest; Nemo feels the moment life finally shudders out of the UDL in time with the fading notes of the song.

"Coast's clear, boss," Felix calls from the other side of the room right as SAM quips _"Tough stains? Eradicated!"_

Nemo lets the body hit the floor, a small smile on his face as he holds the old memory close to his heart and grows bigger as the building subtlety shakes with the force of another UDL ship landing. Reinforcements.

_Perfect._

"Looks like we've got a full dance card, boys."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> every chapter is gonna have a [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5AqvKYYQEE) to go with it. this chapter was kinda inspired by the [Meet the Pyro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUhOnX8qt3I) video because of how it would go from pyro's pov to reality


End file.
